Question

1. by applying the principles of faunal succession and the law of superposition, what can geologists determine about a sequence of rock layers containing fossils? the numerical age of each rock in years the precise environmental conditions of the past the relative age of the layers and how the types of environments changed over time the exact depth of ancient oceans determined by the placement of the layers and fossils in those layers. clear all

Explanation:

• Law of Superposition: In undisturbed sedimentary rock layers, the older layers are at the bottom and the younger layers are at the top. This helps in establishing the relative order (age) of the rock layers.
• Faunal Succession: Fossils (fauna) in rock layers follow a definite and determinable order. Different fossils are characteristic of different time periods. By studying the fossils in each layer, geologists can understand how the environment (as the fossils are related to their habitat) has changed over time. For example, a layer with marine fossils indicates a marine environment at that time, and a layer with terrestrial fossils indicates a terrestrial environment at another time.
• Numerical age determination: Requires radiometric dating (not related to faunal succession and superposition principles directly).
• Precise environmental conditions: While fossils give clues about the environment (e.g., a fossil of a coral - which lives in warm, shallow seas gives an idea of the environment), "precise" environmental conditions (like exact temperature, exact salinity values in numbers) cannot be determined just from these two principles.
• Exact depth of ancient oceans: There is no direct method from faunal succession and superposition to get the exact depth of ancient oceans from the placement of layers and fossils.

Answer:

The relative age of the layers and how the types of environments changed over time